Season’s Greetings!

One of the real joys of the Holiday Season is the opportunity to say thank you and express our sincere appreciation for your continued business and loyalty throughout the year.

We wish you the very best for the New Year.

News

TigerLogic XML Data Management Server 3.0
A major new release of TigerLogic XML Data Management Server, which includes the TigerLogic high performance native XML database and TigerLogic XQuery engine, was announced earlier this year. Read what’s new in TigerLogic XDMS 3.0.

Navigate Raining Data’s New Home Page
Raining Data has redesigned its home page with a new layout that simplifies the navigation to all of our product offerings. Check out the new “look and feel” at www.rainingdata.com.

4GL Briefing - Omnis & mvDESIGNER
Raining Data’s interview with International Spectrum shared our expert knowledge about our Omnis Studio and mvDesigner rapid application development tool products. Read the article in the May/June 2007 issue of Spectrum Magazine on pages15-17:
http://www.intl-spectrum.com/Magazine/Magazine.aspx.

Put our Sales Team to Work for You!
Keep our sales and marketing team updated with your company’s products and services and leverage business referrals right to your bottom line. Putting your current Pick D³, mvBase or mvEnterprise solution or services information in our team’s hands helps us get the right referrals to you. There is no cost for your participation and no limit to the number of products or services you may list. To get started, please email marketing@rainingdata.com today!

Upcoming Events

Free FlashCONNECT Administration WebINR January 9, 2008
You are invited to join long-time Raining Data reseller, Technical Resource Group (TRG), on Wednesday, January 9, 2008, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST, for a no cost educational webINR on FlashCONNECT Administration. This is an excellent opportunity to review your current FlashCONNECT procedures. A question and answer period will be available after the session led by the presenter, JJ Strovink. For more information and to participate, please register today at: http://www.picktrg.com/webinr.htm.

Zumasys leverages their IT provider expertise in legacy application hosting and business continuity
The Sieck Company, an 89-year old wholesale florist, completed a successful hosted IBM AIX implementation by Zumasys, a leading provider of IT solutions. The Pick-based floral ordering system was ported to Raining Data’s D³ AIX database. Click here to read this success story.

Omnis provides powerful manufacturing and scheduling solution to leading UK fitted bedroom retailer
Sharps Bedrooms is the leading fitted bedroom retailer in the UK home improvement market, and enjoys a reputation for an end-to-end customer service that incorporates an initial survey and consultation through to the design and manufacture of the bedroom and a finished and fully fitted product. The ability to deliver a complete service is heavily dependent on their Midlands based manufacturing facility, which relies on several Omnis applications developed and maintained in-house for daily operations. Read how the installation was implemented. Click here to read this successful Omnis retail solution.

Molu Software Update Service for Omnis-based Applications
Mophilly & Associates is primarily involved in software development for business systems in a wide range of industries, including mineral, oil and gas management, accounting, inventory, real estate management and investment, and the performing arts. Their principal developer is Mark Phillips, a highly experienced Omnis developer, a very active member of the Omnis community and a frequent speaker at Omnis conferences in North America and Europe.

Update Processor keyboard diagram now available in PDF!
We have recently received many requests for a copy of the popular Pick Update Processor keyboard diagram. As a result, we have created a downloadable PDF for your use. A major innovation of the Pick system, the Update Processor (UP) is a dictionary-driven, full-screen editor and a valuable tool for data processing and for coding and editing in TCL. Originally offered in early versions of the Reference Manual, the Pick Keyboard diagram provided a convenient and quick-view guide for locating common UP commands. We hope that you find the diagram a handy reference tool when using the Update Processor.

Don’t wait until you need to place a support call
It is important that you and all members of your organization have the correct email address on file in our system since emails sent to Raining Data Technical Support key on the sender’s email address. Any individual associated with the end-user site may perform activations from the Raining Data Web site. Validation is tied to the individual’s name matched with an accurate email address. To add or delete names to or from your organization’s record, please contact your local Raining Data sales representative or email sales@rainingdata.com. Remember, only individuals from the Raining Data Reseller's (VAR) organization or directly contracted sites are authorized to place support calls by either email or phone.

Discussion Forums Available
Raining Data Discussion Forums provide customers a venue for discussing technical issues, circulating development ideas and raising technical questions for any of Raining Data’s products. Technical Announcements can also be found on these forum pages. For more details and registration information, please visit: http://forums.rainingdata.com.

Tech Tips

y (Update Stamping) Processing Code
The y processing code stamps User and/or PIB and /or time/date update information into an internal item header from all processors. The functionality for quickly adding a processing code to a File Defining Item to capture ‘last update’ information has existed for quite some time on Unix. No programming is necessary. When implemented, the ‘y’ processing code captures the time/date, User and PIB, of the last update. This processing code is also very useful working with applications for SOX compliance. Before spending unnecessary time adding code to your application, review these helpful instructions.

AQL and Indexes
For a list and an explanation of what versions of D³ support the different index functionality through Access Query Language (AQL), click here.

Latest Product Releases
By delivering updates to our product suite, Raining Data preserves your existing investment and skill sets, and adds value to your solutions. As we continue to build solid software products required to effectively run your transaction-based applications, your applications become easier to integrate and interoperate with emerging GUI and Web technologies. Partners and end-users will benefit from the major enhancements in functionality and performance that we’ve been hard at work engineering into our software. Contact your local Raining Data sales representative if you wish to update or purchase new licenses for the following new product releases:

D³ 7.5.1 for the Linux Platform
Raining Data recently announced the general availability of D³ Linux 7.5.1, which is now fully certified to run on the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5) platform.

D³7.5.1 for the AIX Platform
This upcoming release for the D³ AIX platform is currently in development and will soon be announced.

mvBase 2.1 for the Windows Platform
The latest mvBase v2.1 release supports the new Microsoft Vista Operating System and offers significant new features, enhancements and fixes. We encourage current mvBase v1.x customers under a Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA) to move to this latest platform. Upgrading to mvBase v2.1 ensures that your applications are running on the most current operating technologies.

Anticipated FlashCONNECT 3.8 Supported on the Vista Operating System
A new release of FlashCONNECT is currently in development. FlashCONNECT 3.8 will include a number of improved features and enhancements and will run as a 32-bit application on 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows 2003 and Vista operating systems. Watch for future product announcements.

Maintaining your SMA
The benefits of maintaining your Raining Data Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA) are significant. With many new and enhanced products being released, this valuable program allows you to take advantage of our latest technologies at reduced costs. Customers participating in Raining Data’s SMA program are reaping the benefits of responsive service via phone, Web or email and substantial cost savings on products and training. Raining Data’s SMA is much more than product support. It allows us to better serve you and carry on our commitment to enhance and maintain the database and middleware products we develop. Contact your local Raining Data sales representative if you would like more information.

Omnis Web Client Technologies White Paper Published
If you're thinking of building a Web application or if you've ever wondered what Web features are available, we invite you to take a look at the new white paper entitled 'Omnis Web Client Technologies' which discusses the client-side technologies available in Omnis Studio. An increasing number of Omnis developers are using the Web capabilities in Omnis to create applications for a wide number of market areas including trade/retail, travel, service industries and NGOs. The white paper provides a general introduction to the Omnis Web Client plug-in and the HTML-only or so-called 'Ultra-thin' Client technology in Omnis and describes the pros and cons of using each technique for different situations. In addition, this white paper contains a number of interesting case studies illustrating how some developers have already implemented the Web Client technologies in Omnis to build market-leading applications.

What’s New In Omnis Studio 4.3?
The new Omnis Studio 4.3 release is currently available for download. New serial numbers are required for activation so please contact your Raining Data sales representative to place your order. There are several new features and enhancements including SDK and runtime versions for Windows Vista and Mac OS X  “Leopard” that benefit the integration, productivity and flexibility of the Omnis Studio product range. Full details regarding each significant feature can be found in the overview information at www.omnis.net.

Benefits of the Omnis Developer Partner Program
For customers currently under an Omnis Developer Partner Program (ODPP), Omnis Studio 4.3 SDK and deployment license updates will be available free of charge. The ODPP provides customers significant benefits over those outside the program, including: developer email and telephone technical support for introductory SDKs, substantial discounts on major release upgrades, discounts on deployment licenses and minor release updates on deployment licenses and introductory SDKs at no charge. Contact your Raining Data sales representative for more information.

Omnis Studio Technical Webinar Series Continues
Whether you are new to the Omnis Studio development environment or an experienced developer, our popular Omnis Studio Technical Webinars can help you learn more. Many of the Webinar sessions include a thorough, live demonstration and an interactive question and answer session at the conclusion. Omnis Studio Webinars are free-of-charge, but require registration. Click here to view the latest Webinar schedule and to register.

Omnis News
For more Omnis news, announcements and success stories, please visit http://www.omnis.net/news/index.html.

US Training
Check out our training class schedule and bookmark the Training and Education section of our Web site for up-to-the-minute class listings and schedules.

UK Training
The free Technical Thursday training seminars continue with success in the UK Sales office. To attend any of the seminars, please contact the UK sales office at uk_sales@rainingdata.com.